The sight of small, shallow holes dotting a lawn or garden bed is a familiar frustration for many homeowners. These disturbances are almost always the work of the squirrel. Understanding the motivation behind this behavior reveals a complex survival strategy. The act of digging is a deeply ingrained instinct necessary for survival, primarily driven by the need to secure food for times of scarcity.
Why Squirrels Cache Food and Where They Hide It
The primary reason squirrels dig is scatter hoarding, a survival strategy used to ensure a food supply during winter or lean months. Scatter hoarding involves burying individual food items in hundreds of small caches across a wide territory, unlike larder hoarding where all food is stored centrally. This method prevents the loss of an entire food supply if one cache is discovered by a competitor.
The food items most commonly buried include hard-shelled nuts like acorns, hickory nuts, and walnuts, along with seeds and sometimes fungi. Squirrels prepare the ground by pressing the item deep into the soil with their snout before covering the spot with dirt and tamping it down. This action creates the small holes homeowners typically observe in their yards.
To retrieve these caches, squirrels rely heavily on spatial memory, creating a mental map of their territory relative to landmarks. While smell helps locate the final few inches of a cache, their cognitive abilities allow them to remember the general area where they buried their bounty months earlier. Squirrels are also known to perform “fake burials” when they sense they are being watched by competitors, protecting their true caches by misleading onlookers.
Digging for Reasons Beyond Food Storage
While scatter hoarding is the most frequent cause of yard disruption, squirrels also dig for immediate needs unrelated to long-term storage. These small excavations can be part of an active foraging process to supplement their diet with animal matter. Squirrels are omnivores and will dig to hunt for protein sources, such as grubs, insects, worms, and larvae that live just below the soil surface.
This type of digging is often transient and focused on disturbed soil or areas rich in organic matter where insects thrive. Sometimes, digging serves a need for shelter or material. While species like ground squirrels dig extensive burrows for nesting, tree squirrels may briefly dig to gather loose soil or soft material to line their nests during breeding season. During periods of prolonged drought, squirrels may also dig to access cooler, moister soil, sometimes seeking out bulbs or roots for their water content.
Humane Strategies to Discourage Digging
Homeowners can implement several humane strategies to protect their lawns and gardens from persistent digging.
Removing Attractants
One effective approach is to remove easy food sources that attract squirrels to the yard. This includes fallen fruit from trees or spillage beneath bird feeders. Switching to squirrel-proof bird feeders or relocating them away from vulnerable garden areas can reduce the animals’ motivation to frequent the space.
Using Physical Barriers
Physical barriers provide a direct solution by preventing access to the soil. Laying down wire mesh, chicken wire, or hardware cloth over newly seeded beds or bulb plantings can physically block the animal from digging. Mulch or landscape fabric can also be used to cover the soil, making it less appealing or difficult to disturb.
Applying Scent Deterrents
Utilizing natural deterrents exploits the squirrel’s sensitive sense of smell, which is necessary for locating their caches. Applying strong odors that squirrels dislike can discourage them from digging in targeted areas.
A solution containing capsaicin—the compound found in chili powder or cayenne pepper—can be sprayed on the ground to create a repellent effect. Other natural scents like peppermint oil or vinegar sprays can also be used as a temporary measure, though these often require reapplication, especially after rain.